In electronic devices of the LGA type, numerous individual electrode lands or pads are provided on a lower, contact surface enabling a significant, advantageous reduction in the height of the entire device by comparison with electronic devices of the PGA (pin grid array) type, which employ numerous electrode pins.
The socket connector which is required to mount, LGA-type devices on circuit boards should therefore minimize the above-board mounting height to take full advantage of the low profile of the LGA-type device.
However, socket members have previously employed elastomeric interface connectors in which numerous contact pins, wires or filaments are embedded, distributed in spaced apart relation, in a sheet or pad of elastomer which requires a relatively difficult manufacturing operation. Furthermore, the same elastic properties of the elastomer which are relied on for providing a suitable contact pressure may also result in the contact pins being displaced towards the inside of the sheet with consequential difficulty in obtaining reliable electrical connections with all the electrode lands of the device.